Swordsmanship Master

Worried that Mei would be discouraged from this point on, Ren Yu simply smiled and explained, "Don't overthink it. If it had been anyone else, that thrust at the throat just now would have decided the match!"

That was right. There was no need to treat him as a hypothetical enemy.

Ren Yu's perception was no joke.

You might think you had hidden a trick up your sleeve, but little did you know that he had already seen through it.

Mei nodded. After bowing once more, she carried her wooden sword off the platform and remained silent for a long while.

She seemed to be pondering something.

How exactly had Ren Yu noticed that she was about to thrust?

There had clearly been no sign at all.

Still, she remembered that move of taking a step forward before making an upward slash.

She had not expected such a simple little movement to let her borrow so much more force.

Ren Yu swept his gaze around. It looked like no one else was coming up to ask for guidance.

Just as he was about to step down, Nina recovered.

Seeing Ren Yu about to leave, she hurriedly shouted,

"Assistant Teacher, don't go! I'll be ready soon. Let's do it again."

Ren Yu: "..."

A few minutes later.

With a casual strike, he knocked Nina's wooden sword flying, sending it onto the floor nearby.

Though Nina looked somewhat disheveled and collapsed onto the arena from exhaustion, her eyes were shining.

She was convinced—completely convinced!

She had already found it a little strange when she watched Mei spar earlier. She had never expected the Assistant Teacher to actually point out the flaws in her moves!

The altered sword techniques differed somewhat from the original versions, but they were clearly better suited to her build and habits.

"Assistant Teacher, can I come ask for more guidance later?"

Nina did not even care about the soreness in her body. She sat on the ground and looked up as she asked.

Her eyes were full of hope. She also knew how rare the guidance of a Swordsmanship Master was. If she did not seize the opportunity now, it would be hard to seek his advice again in the future.

Swordsmanship Master

That was right, a Swordsmanship Master!

The Assistant Teacher had to be a Swordsmanship Master. Otherwise, how could he so easily notice her swordsmanship habits and the flaws in her techniques?

If Nina had previously thought of Ren Yu as merely an exceptionally capable peer, she was now completely convinced.

Ren Yu: "..."

Why did he feel like this girl had been beaten silly?

Why did she suddenly want him to brutalize her?

Could the "guidance" he had improvised based on bodily reactions really be that useful?

"Fine."

He nodded and agreed under Nina's expectant gaze.

What he had not expected was that this one session of instruction would last until evening.

During that time, Mei and Nina took turns going up, and Ren Yu had to spar once every ten minutes or so.

The students below who had yet to leave looked at one another, all arriving at the same thought—had Nina and Mei gone crazy?!

Who willingly took such a beating?

In their eyes, Nina and Mei were utterly incomprehensible: their faces flushed red as they repeatedly and recklessly challenged the Assistant Teacher until they were exhausted, then drank an energy drink, rested briefly, and returned to the arena.

Suddenly, the training room doors slammed open, and Nina entered from outside with a rosy glow on her face.

She seemed to be in an excellent mood. The moment she entered, she impatiently shouted, "Assistant Teacher! My close combat level has broken through to B-rank!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a girl in the spacious training room cried out in shock, as though she had heard something unbelievable.

"B-rank?!"

That had to be fake!

Hadn't she only broken through to C-rank last month?

"Yeah! If you don't believe me, look!"

Beaming, Nina pointed at the silver badge pinned to her left chest. Amid all the astonished gazes, she put her hands on her hips and proudly shouted, "Assistant Teacher, I didn't embarrass you, did I?"

The students had not quite believed her at first, but when they saw the badge on Nina's chest, they all fell silent.

It really was a B-rank close-combat badge!

With that, she could participate in the B-rank Valkyrie Exam.

As long as she passed the subsequent Stigmata Stability Test and Combat Simulation, she could be promoted to a true B-rank Valkyrie, leave the Valkyrie Reserve Class, and enroll in one of the academy's real Core Classes—the Valkyrie Training Class!

It could be said that this badge was proof of strength!

Why?

Because there were over a hundred Valkyrie Reserve Classes and Logistics Classes of the same year in the academy, yet there were only five true Valkyrie Training Classes!

In other words, those who could advance to B-rank Valkyrie at this age were all extremely rare talents.

At that moment, the students began to realize something.

Could sparring with that fierce Assistant Teacher really be helpful?

In an instant, countless gazes turned toward the arena, toward the black-haired man who was still sparring with Mei.